I've talked before about how rare it is for me to see one of my plays. About 90% of my productions come from schools, and I tend to avoid those because the presence of the playwright can be intimidating, something young actors don't need when the focus should be on them and the development of their skills in a constructive, pressure-free environment.
In fact, the last production I saw was An Enchanted Bookshop Christmas all the way back in December 2023. That was a wonderful show and I was gratified by how warmly the audience responded to it.
So I was excited this weekend to see Center Stage Theater Group bring my diner comedy It Happened on Route 66 to life in the Phoenix metro area, where I live.
I'm familiar with most of the theaters in town, but I'd never heard of this happy band of thespians. A quick Google search told me they're one of the newest companies in town, having only been around since 2023.
Center Stage is the brainchild and passion project of Helene Benigno, a director, actor, and playwright in her own right. In just two years, she has built a dedicated stable of community theater veterans with whom she produces plays like Love, Loss, and What I Wore and Lizzie Borden of Fall River.
When I contacted Helene, she said she'd be thrilled to have me attend the show. And so earlier tonight, I journeyed westward with my wife to the suburb of Buckeye, where the company was performing my play at a local high school.
As soon as I stepped inside the school's cafetorium, I knew I was in good hands. The set looked great. Although the company had rented the stage for only two performances, they managed to put together a set that was both appealing and lovingly detailed, establishing a fun, nostalgic mood for the performance.
Even better, the place was packed. I'm guessing at least two hundred people were there. The air was electric. And so, as I settled into my seat, I couldn't wait to see the cast bring my familiar lines to life.
Only it didn't start familiar, and for a few minutes, I wasn't sure what was going on. Sans dialogue, a young waitress entered the diner and promptly fell asleep at one of the tables, only to be chewed out by an irate Cookie, also sans dialogue but with plenty of amusingly angry gestures.
Turns out this was nothing more than a way to get the audience to take their seats, since Helene's pre-performance announcements immediately followed this scene. I thought it was really fun because it basically played out how Sally's coworker Deedee quit, an event which Cookie only briefly mentions near the beginning of the play.
I don't know the name of the actress who played Deedee (she's not credited as such in the program), but I'm 99.9% certain she's the only person who's ever played this role.
The show was fantastic. I hate to pick out any single performers since they were all so good. But I would like to mention Ashley Fergus-Crane, who played movie star Lovey Lamour exactly as I'd always imagined her, with plenty of sass in the beginning, but gradually revealing her human side as she interacts with the everyday people who pass through the diner.
Helene told me she's a huge fan of physical comedy, and it showed. She gave her cast free rein to play with the script, and they found plenty of stuff to work with. My favorite bit was the way Ashley awkwardly stuck her fingers inside the water glasses as she carried them to the customers--something she came up with herself and which got loud guffaws every time she did it.
I also really liked Mallory Kochmann, who blended a wide-eyed innocence with just the right amount of spunk in her portrayal of movie-obsessed waitress Sally. In fact, she seemed to win the hearts of the audiences as much as she did Roscoe's heart, earning a heartfelt "aw" from the crowd as she declared her undying love for her geeky boyfriend.
And Kathy Berrens was hilariously tough as diner owner Cookie (it's always fun to see whether a theater goes with a male or female in this role--both work well!). Every one of her tirades got big laughs from the audience. And this constant grousing only made it funnier when she totally fan-girled out at crooner Johnny Jerome's surprise appearance in Act Two.
Speaking of surprises, there was an especially clever one at intermission when Helene announced that she would give two free tickets to whoever found a particular object under their seat. The object? The C that was blown off of the Cookie's Diner sign (you can see me holding it in the photo at the top of this post).
Cute, right?
Helene put her own twist on the ending as well. In the script, I have the lights dim as Cookie wipes the counter after bidding a pre-fame Elvis goodbye. Instead of this, Helene had Cookie stroll over to the jukebox, where she punched the button for "Hound Dog." This led seamlessly into the curtain call as the cast shimmied and shook their way onto the stage to the real Elvis's iconic tune.
After the performance, I chatted with the cast and signed their programs. They bombarded me with questions about my thoughts on the performance and what other plays I was working on, but there was one question I myself was dying to ask.
Sheehan Servais played both a hilariously hungry Otis and the King himself. He played them so well, in fact, that I didn't even realize they were done by the same actor until he came out for the curtain call.
Now I wish I'd asked him how he managed the quick change since the script goes right from Otis's exit to Elvis's entrance with only a quick laugh and a wipe of the counter by Cookie between them. But no. The question I asked was how he managed to put away so much food during the hour and a half of the play.
The production notes at the end of the script suggest that the actor deposit some of the food into a hole drilled into the top of the counter. But I watched for that and didn't see Sheehan doing anything like that.
The answer was simple. Sheehan did eat all of the food he was served during the play. He just skipped dinner those nights.
I guess that's one of the advantages to being in your twenties. You know, the insatiable appetite and all.
Anyway, it was an amazing show, and I feel very lucky to have seen it.
Thank you, Helene and the entire cast and crew. You made this playwright very proud.
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